Slenderman
The Slenderman is an unknown entity of possible supernatural origin who seems to be stalking the main characters of EverymanHYBRID. He, or it, has the appearance of an abnormally tall, thin man with no hair and no face, clad in a black business suit and tie. At times there are also long, black wispy tentacles sprouting out of his back or shoulders. Although his motivations are unclear, he seems to have a detrimental effect on the mental and/or physical health of all who come into contact with him, such as paranoia, insanity and a cough. He also seems to have an adverse affect on video cameras and other audio/video or electrical equipment, causing the picture to become filled with static or cut out and the sound to stop or fill with feedback, humming, or strange sirens. The sounds of children are also associated with his appearances. These effects are brought about seemingly without any overt action by the Slenderman. The Slenderman's relationship with HABIT seems to be one of animosity, as shown in the Twitter fight (this assumes that Slenderman is, in fact, the source of the lowercase Tweets); however recent posts by HABIT on Damsel's former blog have confirmed that HABIT and Slenderman have worked together in the past. If they are still working together or have gone their separate ways is still a mystery. HABIT's relationship with The Rake is unclear but many speculate that the Rake acts as an enforcer to HABIT. In the video "Jessie" Jeff confirms that Slenderman acted directly to prevent the Rake from attacking the boys any further after the events of "Jim Thorpe." Slenderman seems to emit Sigma Radiation, which can be detected using the Black Box Device. The presence of this radiation ties him into the Iteration Theory, along with Jeff, Vince, Evan, and Steph. Activities and Habits: The Slenderman has shown a preference for passively watching people from the sidelines, either from a distance or with uncomfortably close proximity. It has not been shown to actively attack anyone, as of yet. The extent to which it is possibly engineering events is, however, unconfirmed. Presumably, he drives his victims to madness and allows these individuals to do his dirty work for him. In fact, the Slenderman's main apparent modus operandi, and indeed his only apparent discernable goal at all, is to observe people in unsettling and/or frightening ways, and in such a manner as to drive them to the brink of sanity and beyond. Any other goals or ambitions he/it may have are as yet almost completely indecipherable and open to speculation and interpretation. While not actually observed thus far being openly aggressive or physically attacking anyone, Slenderman has, however, been shown to defend himself quite well. In Ashen Waste he easily inflicts severe injuries upon Evan during their brief altercation. In some of the earliest accounts of Slenderman activity, there were anecdotes of corpses hanging in trees with their internal organs removed and placed within bags. The EverymanHYBRID crew encountered similar circumstances in Joke's Over, where the crew came across several garbage bags suspended from trees, which leaked what appeared to be blood when cut open. Likewise, those same accounts refer to fires and buildings being burned, as happened at the hospital where Stephanie was being kept. Trees and forests in which disturbing, unusual, and possibly supernatural phenomena have been reported are also a recurring theme, as is the abduction and/or disappearance of children, both of which have been either directly observed by the EverymanHYBRID crew or have been found referenced in documents discovered by the crew. Powers & Abilities: Due to his nature, the Slenderman has shown to be capable of using 'supernatural' powers. This is not necessarily a palette of "superpowers" that the Slenderman is able to use but instead is more accurately described as a variety of phenomena which occur in its presence - the consequences of its passing, a trail it leaves behind in the very air, and in the minds of its victims. Whether the Slenderman actively triggers these phenomena, they are side-effects resulting from some deleterious process the being's presence insinuates within the minds of witnesses, such as a triggered neuroses, or if these effects possibly result from how the Slenderman's unnatural presence interacts with the environment, atmosphere, electronic equipment, and/or the fabric of space/time itself, is uncertain. It is possible, if not probable, that it is a combination of all of these possibilities, at one time or another. Keep in mind that this list is pure speculation and only applies to the EverymanHYBRID version of Slenderman (as opposed to other versions within the mythos, such as the one from Marble Hornets): *'Apportation' - Slenderman has appeared to teleport objects other than itself through space. *'Pain reduction / Prolonging death' - It is noted in the CANYOUSEETHEWORDS entry JOHNNY BOY that he has the ability to significantly reduce pain within some of his victims. Johnny mentions that the Slenderman is the reason he was still alive and able to type despite HABIT's torture. "His stare is almost soothing, like morphine."-Johnny *'Shapeshifting' - Slenderman's size, and sometimes its shape, has changed from one appearance to the next, changing so radically as to sometimes appear to be tentacled. *'Technopathy '- It is implied that Slenderman is able to control electronic devices with just its mind, and this ability, if extant, is most likely the reason why its appearances interfere with video and audio equipment. *'Telekinesis' - Slenderman possibly possesses the ability to move objects with his mind, it appears to have done so in Episode 6 - Healthy Eating. *'Telepathy' - The presence of Slenderman has had several, usually unpleasant, effects on the minds of those to whom it manifests, including: altering sense and perception of their environment; influencing personalities; adding and removing memories; remaining unobserved even in plain sight directly in front of witnesses, causing images and writing to remain unobservable to victims even after they are directly presented with proof; and apparent fore-knowledge of witness' actions and thoughts. *'Teleportation' - Slenderman has shown to teleport out of sight many times, and move from one side of a scene to the other, apparently without moving through the intervening space. *'Temporal manipulation' - The passage of time itself has, to all appearances, become fluid and variable in some of Slenderman's most disturbing manifestations. Also, as a side-note and not necessarily a distinct power, which may be tied to Slenderman's Telepathy or may be a separate phenomenon altogether, the appearance of Slenderman seems to have a detrimental effect on witness's sanity. It would be expected that encountering something apparently supernatural or paranormal would be disturbing and unsettling to an individual's view of the world, but witnesses have shown behavior patterns begin to degrade beyond even what would be expected, mostly after encountering Slenderman several times, and a few have shown extreme signs of mental imbalance, including violent tendencies and behavior - including the desire to be armed when it would seem to be unnecessary, inappropriate laughter and disturbing smiles at inappropriate times, holding threatening conversations with people who do not appear to exist, and in general an apparent ever-increasing sense of paranoia. Why some individuals are more affected than others, and why some develop these more extreme tendencies while other's do not, is not yet understood. It is also notable that Slenderman is known to distort time and space after prolonged exposure. For example, in 78of76.avi, the crew are seen entering an abandoned home during the day, proceeding through an entryway and miraculously appearing on a beach in the dead of night. Other long-term side effects may be involuntary time travel (hinted at in the most recent Corenthal letter) as well as significant memory loss. Proxies In many other Slenderman series, Slenderman is shown to have "Proxies," or humans who act on his behalf, either as a form of possession, worship, or telepathic influence. That ability had been unseen in the EverymanHYBRID universe up until the video Next, where we see several hooded figures walking, zombie-like, towards Evan's house. Evan (completely taken over by HABIT at this point) says that sometimes when Slenderman really wants someone, he sends his "dogs" after them. The proxies are ineffectual, and Evan/HABIT easily knocks several of them over on his way past. Identity It is possible that Slenderman was once a real person (i.e. the business suit and tie), but so far there is no explanation of his origin besides fan's speculations. Appearances *(He appears in the earlier videos, but it's impossible to differentiate between the real Slenderman and the fake Slenderman) *... *Healthy Eating *Sleep Lab Part 1 *Joke's Over *Jeff *.- *Reunion. *Congratulations Magus!.avi *Ashen Waste *December & early January *"Damsel" (Very minor appearance in hospital window) *The Corenthal Connection (Jessie's back) *Noah *HALLOWEEN HANGOVER *Jessie (discussed) *Consensus *Not dead yet *The property *Next *Isolation *Apt 3103 *Part II *Two thousand three hundred ninety-five *The Drive West *Finding Fairmount The EverymanHYBRID crew has caught the Slenderman on video on several occasions. During the video "...", it was revealed that they had been having somebody dress up as the Slenderman for some of their videos (see: Fake Slenderman). Their first known encounter with the real Slenderman occurred during Episode 6 - Healthy Eating when the Slenderman appears in Evan's house directly behind the crew. When the crew rushes to investigate, the Slenderman is nowhere to be found, confusing them since there is no obvious escape route. After their initial contact, the crew begins exhibiting many of the symptoms associated with having contact with the Slenderman. He makes another overt appearance in the video Joke's Over, where he appears behind Vince and Evan. He later appears in December & early January when the crew is retreating from the grave of Vince's cat; he is silhouetted by an outdoor house light and the footage freezes and distorts when it settles on him. Gallery Slenderman.png|Slenderman's appearance in "Reunion". Screenshot_49.png|Slenderman's other appearance in "Reunion". giphy (5).gif|Slenderman's appearance in "The Corenthal Connection". SlenderManNotDeadYetEMH.gif|Slenderman's appearance in "Not dead yet". Slendy Dot Dash.png|Slenderman's appearance in ".-". giphy (8).gif|Slenderman's appearance in "Ashen Waste". Screenshot_50.png|Slenderman's appearance in "Apt 3103". Screenshot_51.png|Slenderman's appearance in "Part II". Screenshot_52.png|Slenderman's appearance in "two thousand three hundred ninety-five". SlendermanDriveWest.jpg|Slenderman in "The drive west." External Links *Original SA thread/First Slenderman images *Humorous article on Cracked.com *TvTropes article and links to other stories in the Mythos (Obligatory TvTropes warning) Category:The Antagonists Category:The Characters